Letter: Why should we care what Cheney thinks?

I am astounded. On June 16, Fox News asked Dick Cheney his opinion on whether or not Edward Snowden is a traitor. I’m not surprised at his opinion; I’m surprised anyone cares to ask.

Remember, Cheney’s the guy who told the American people it was then certain that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. On “Meet the Press,” Cheney, in his typical avuncular fashion, told us that he believed we would be greeted as liberators in Iraq. He leaked out incorrect information to the New York Times about the possibility that Saddam was attaining aluminum tubes capable of supporting nuclear warfare, and then used the leaked misinformation in the Times article as a source of verification. Tell me again; why do we care what he thinks?

In the eight years between 1959 and 1967, Cheney actively sought, and got, five deferments during the Vietnam War. He once told George C. Wilson of the Washington Post, “I had other priorities in the ’60s than military service.”

It is clear that Cheney the chicken hawk was the driving force for the Iraq War, which killed 4,486 of our fallen heroes. For Cheney to accuse Snowden of being a traitor is the pot calling the helicopter black. Cheney’s hypocrisy is self-loathing by proxy.